


Loop de loop

by Lucifuge5



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Established Relationship, M/M, Revenge Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-01 17:07:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2781008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucifuge5/pseuds/Lucifuge5
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There isn't much about Ray that could be considered special (well, aside from the time-travel thing, that is).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Loop de loop

**Author's Note:**

  * For [daniomalley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/daniomalley/gifts).



> Thank you, Akamine_chan for the wonderful beta. <3
> 
> Daniomalley, I hope you enjoy this prezzie from me to you. :D!

It's nearly 4 a.m. when Frank pulls their van into the 7-Eleven's parking lot. Otter and Gerard are cuddled together in the middle seat, trying their best to keep warm.

As the one couple in the band, Ray and Mikey share the last seat, surrounded by a few boxes of merch. Ray rubs his eyes, hoping that they'd stop feeling so dry that blinking almost hurts. He should've taken his contact lenses out at the club they played at back in St. Louis. But then, between breaking down their equipment, lugging his gear into the small trailer attached to their van, and sharing a few beers with the local band My Chem had opened for, it hadn't taken much for him and Mikey to curl up around each other and pass the hell out.

There's a pressure on his lap as Mikey rolls his head one way, then the other. 

"Morning, sunshine," Ray says as he looks down at Mikey's sleepy face. In the semi-darkness of the van, Ray allows himself to study the sleep-creases on Mikey's cheeks, the softness of his face, and the gentle angles of his eyebrows. Something inside of him feels a little wobbly the longer he stares. Sometimes he can't believe how gone he is for Mikey.

"Hey," Mikey replies sleepily. "Why we stopped?"

Ray slides his right thumb over one of Mikey's eyebrows, a warm feeling bubbling up when Mikey makes a little pleasant hmm. "7-Eleven in the middle of fucking nowhere. Coffee?"

" _Coffee_ ," Mikey sighs happily. The fact that coffee is the one thing Ray has to share space in Mikey's heart with is something that he's accepted since the day he realized he'd fallen in love with Mikey. Ray doesn't mind. Much.

"All right, dudes, whoever wants munchies, coffee or the opportunity to whiz indoors should get out or forever hold his peace. I don't think there's anything else for the next nine hours," Frank yells as he pockets the van's keys.

"You might want to take a picture ," Mikey says in a sleepy tone, eyes still closed. "I can feel you staring like a creeper." 

"Yeah, well, I wasn't sure if you were going to join us here in the land of the living or if I'd have to resort to poking you with a stick," Ray says. "I mean, so far, you've only reacted to the mention of coffee."

"Mmm, coffee..." is all Mikey says.

"Hey, Romeo and Romeo," Otter says as he slides open the van's door, "you guys coming with or are you staying put?" 

Ray sits up like he'd been caught doing something inappropriate, trying to not feel disappointed when Mikey straightens up too. "Yeah, uh, yeah, we're going in," he says, stepping out in the cold night after Gerard. They don't spend too much time at the 7-Eleven. There are, after all, nine more hours of driving to go before any they can check into their hotel room in Colorado. 

Newly caffeinated, Frank handles the rest of the drive, fingers tapping alongside an old Pencey tape. 

It's not until they've checked in, one room with two full beds because fuck knows they've got little cash to begin with, that Mikey starts rummaging through his bags. "Fuck, where are they?" he mumbles, as he zips and unzips his backpack. "Gerard did you take my headphones again?"

"Nope," Gerard says while texting on his phone. "You sure you brought them?"

"Yeah, I wrapped the cord around my iPod right after soundcheck," Mikey says, folding his legs under himself, frowning. 

"Dude, if you left them at the venue, I have to say that you are all out of luck," Otter replies from his side of the bed. "There's no fucking way any of us are going to use any gas money for some earbuds, Mikey."

"Fuck," Mikey sighs, shoulders slumping. "I think I left them on the counter back at the 7-Eleven."

"Well, that's closer…" Gerard says while he plugs his phone to the charger.

"Not that close," Otter counters. He nods at Frank. "You feel like getting in the van and driving another nine hours?"

Frank sucks his teeth. "I'm sorry, Mikey, but my ass is numb after all that driving. Maybe there's a Walmart around here and we can hit it in the morning."

"Thanks, Frank," Mikey replies in monotone. 

"I can lend you mine," Ray says easily."I know that the left earbud's busted, but that's better than nothing, right?"

Other than Gerard, Mikey is the one person in the band who had the most problem sleeping. Mikey told Ray once, way back when they had just started the band, how listening to music was the easiest way for him to fall asleep. 

"Nah, it's cool," Mikey replies, the corners of his mouth pointing downwards. 

Ray doesn't push. 

Soon enough, everyone's finished taking turns in the bathroom, changing into their least grimy clothing for bed. Ray listens to Frank as he gets comfortable on the roll-away cot, Gerard's soft snores and Otter's louder ones, and Mikey's half-awake/half-asleep fidgeting. He gives into the urge to slide out of bed (ignoring Mikey's quiet grumblings of protest), seemingly prompted by a greater force.

"I'll be right back," he says, his tone casual as he puts on his coat and sneakers quickly, and closing the door behind him before Mikey can say anything. 

He goes down the corridor at a rather brisk pace and gives the night clerk a terse smile as he goes past the front desk. 

The world is quiet, every surface blanketed in snow. Time itself appears to slow down once Ray walks outside, past the van, looking back for a second before he hears a loud pop.

He finds himself standing outside, nowhere near the hotel's parking lot. There are a couple of big garbage dumpsters to his right. It's not until he looks ahead that he sees a tall post with a well-lit sign he recognizes as the one from the 7-Eleven they visited some 12 hours ago.

Everything tilts just so, leaving him feeling queasy. He presses a hand against the brick wall while he tries his hardest to figure what the fuck just happened. A quick check of his pockets produce a stick of gum, a couple of guitar picks, and just enough change to call Gerard's cellphone. Ray sighs with relief and starts walking toward the front of the store, half-remembering a payphone somewhere near the door. He's but a few feet from turning when he hears voices that sound awfully familiar 

"...or are you staying put?" 

Ray freezes up. That sounds _a lot_ like Otter. Curiosity piqued, he plasters his back against the brick wall and takes small steps toward the voice, carefully leaning forward until he sees something that makes him feel like he's going crazy. Because, no. It is not scientifically possible that he just saw himself and Mikey walking into the store. 

He steps back, closer to dumpster area, and paces while trying to decide what he's going do. If he was to look at the situation logically, he'd rationalize that he was still asleep. Still, there's a certain level of vividness that some part of Ray's self-awareness recognizes as reality.

Ray lets his mind run wild for a few minutes as he remembers random movies and TV shows that have do with time travel. Will the fact that he's in the past affect his future? or Mikey's? or the world's? How the hell is going to get back? The ebb and flow of panicked thoughts finally levels out because, really, freaking out _right now_ is not helping the situation. Maybe he traveled nearly half a day back so that he could get Mikey's headphones. Why not? In the movies, people travel to the past for all kinds of reasons.There's a feeling of certainty that he's exactly where he's supposed to be, that he can move outside of the regular timeline like motherfucking Dr. Who. That's pretty badass. Something tells him that Gerard would be jealous if he knew about this. He giggles, covering his mouth to stifle his laughter, allowing some of his nervous energy a bit of an outlet.

Once he's calmer, he glances at his watch, realizing that the past versions of he and the rest of the band should be getting back on the road in five minutes or so. 

Finally, Ray hears his past self and the band's steps as they trundle back into the van and drive off. He waits a little bit longer before stepping inside the 7-Eleven, coolly saluting the guy by the register."My friend, uh, left his headphones behind," he says, eyes scanning the counter space until he finds the jumbled white cord of Mikey's earbuds right next to the coffee pot. "Figures," he says, picking up the headphones and walking back out into the night.

Not ten seconds after walking out of the store, he hears another loud pop and then he's standing in front of their room. "Fucking weird," he says, sliding the key card into the door and carefully stepping inside. He puts the earbuds right on the nightstand, easily within Mikey's reach, and gets back on his side of the bed, feeling the mattress dip when Mikey rolls over and presses himself against Ray. 

It's a long time before Ray can fall asleep.

~*~

Mikey's squints at Ray the next morning, earbuds in one hand, looking ten kinds of adorable even though his hair is doing its own thing. "You found them where?"

"Right under our seat?" Ray says, wishing he wasn't lying. But then, there's no way that he could even begin to explain what had happened. 

He can't stop staring at the earbuds, wanting to touch them himself, because, yeah, that's them right there. Every doubt he ever had about whatever happened last night fades away. It seems that the universe, in addition of giving him musical talents and the ability to grow a mighty impressive head of hair, has also made him into a real life version of Bill and Ted.

"You could've woken me up. I'd have helped you looked for them. I mean, they're my earbuds." Mikey raises an eyebrow. "You didn't have to go out alone into the night, babe."

Ray leans down, placing a kiss on the corner of Mikey's mouth. "It was my pleasure."

~*~

Looking back, Ray wishes he hadn't been so surprised that it didn't take long before he met, well, himself. Up until that moment, he's only done his Quantum Leap thing a handful of times. Mikey can be a little absentminded in the best of days. Ray tries his best to keep his time-traveling to the most important things. Or, at least, to things that he considers necessary.

By now, he's learned that he can only go to the past (trying to figure out why left him with a headache that lasted for days). It's always weird and a little scary, but somehow, he always makes it back in one piece.

This time, Mikey had lost his glasses back in England. Even though Brian is a kickass tour manager, he can't promise Mikey a delivery of replacement glasses any earlier than two weeks from today. 

Ray's worried. As nearsighted as Mikey is, it's only a matter of time before he ends up bumping into a wall or falling off the stage. Mikey's been looking absolutely miserable: alternating between squinting at whoever is talking to him and pouting hard whenever someone talks about going to the movies or watching TV. Ray takes it upon himself to protect Mikey. 

Even though they're usually together, though, Ray can't watch over Mikey every second of the day. 

Ray waits until everyone leaves the room, staying behind after not-so-subtly complaining of migraines, and triple checks that he's absolutely alone before he can begin to activate his power. 

It's a simple matter of popping over to the London venue a little after the band had left, grabbing Mikey's glasses from wherever he'd left them, and returning to the present timeline. No harm, no foul. 

Ray stands in the middle of the room, legs and arms relaxed, mind focusing on the item he wants to retrieve. Taking deep breaths, he forces himself to remain calm once he feels the tell-tale tug, growing stronger every second, that indicates he's about to leave the here and now.

_(pop)_

The glasses are exactly where he remembers seeing them last: right next to a couple of discarded Red Bull cans on the green room's floor. Ray shakes his head, a tiny smile forming on his full lips as he bends over and pick the glasses up in one swift move. He's about to head back when he hears the front door open and a very familiar voice say "Oh, shit!"

Deep down, Ray knows that the best thing to do is to ignore whatever's going on behind him and return to the present. Still, he can't help turning around and facing himself.

"You know, I'd wondered if this ever was going to happen," the other Ray says, his expression somewhere between amused and curious.

"Yeah, I know. I did too. I. You. Fuck," Ray says."Do you think this is OK? Us meeting?" Inwardly, he doesn't want to begin to think of all the horrible things that can potentially happen because of this.

"I have no idea," the other Ray says evenly. "I...um, you. Erm, _we_ haven't been doing this long. Or, at least, I haven't." He looks at Ray up and down. " _When_ are you from?" 

"Not that far. A little over a week ago." Ray turns the hand holding the glasses. "Mikey lost these."

"Hmm, I bet he's as helpless as a kitten, huh?" the other Ray says, his gaze warm.

Ray snorts. "Yeah, something like that."

"It sucks that you're not from the future-future. It'd be awesome to see what cellphones and Pro-Tools are like 20 years from now." 

"Hmm, I bet you the internet will be awesome," Ray says wistfully.

The other Ray tilts his head."Something tells me we're gonna be all right," he says, "but it might be time for you to return." He crosses the room and hugs Ray. "You take care of our guy in the future and I'll take care of him from now until our timelines merge, OK?"

Ray returns the hug, "I will," he promises.

He surrenders to the comfort of meeting the one person in the whole world who knows exactly what he's gone through. The feeling washes over him until he opens his eyes and finds himself back home.


End file.
